


Sugar

by cryogirl



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: (in the past), Alternate Universe - Never Met, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Mpreg, Stripper Link, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Teen Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25145209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryogirl/pseuds/cryogirl
Summary: Link’s boyfriend is gone, leaving behind a pile of debts and a child in his belly. Link works day and night to keep himself and his baby safe, but he knows it’s not enough.Rhett has never given the dancers at his favourite strip club a second thought— until he sees one who is different.——Originally posted on tumblr as „Stripper AU”.——(The underage tag is only a precaution, there is no underage sex in this fic.)
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 28
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to rhettandtwink and her anons who inspired this fic, and of course to everyone on tumblr who cheered this story on. You’re all fantastic.❤️

_You’re not worth the hassle._

That was what he’d said, that night that had destroyed Link’s life. _I ain’t gonna buy a ring and do the whole ‘perfect little family’-shit for a guy like you. You’re not that good of a fuck._

And then he’d left, ignoring Link’s begging and pleading; and that was probably the worst part of it all, that Link had actually crawled on his knees and begged that asshole to stay, to not leave him behind with a pile of debts and a child in his belly.

The worst part was that Link still wanted him. He was sure that if he’d come in here now, into the seedy club Link was dancing in every night, he’d go with him the second he asked. After all, he was the father of his baby.

He never came, though, so Link continued scrubbing floors by day and showing his body off to lonely men by night. It didn’t pay enough to pay off the debts his ex had made before he’d run off, but it was just enough to pay for a small room and food.

Link had no idea what he would do once the little one arrived; he only knew that he had to make it, somehow, because he’d never do what his boyfriend had told him to do: get rid of the baby.

He had sworn himself that whatever happened, no matter how many bathrooms he’d have to clean, no matter how often he’d have to strip in front of drunken strangers— he’d give this child a good life. 

A home.

And so, five months into his pregnancy, Link found himself in the messy dressing room of the ‘Jacky Club’ once more, the private dancing club he’d been working in for several weeks now.

He was trying to squeeze into a tiny pair of shorts, a task that seemed to become more difficult with every passing week. His bump was barely noticeable yet, but there was a slight fullness to his hips that was hardly concealed by the skimpy clothes the dancers had to wear.

Link had talked to the manager about it, a surprisingly friendly man over 70, and he’d said that Link would be offered as a ‘special’ once the belly was really there. It might mean fewer customers, but they’d be charged more so it should even out at the end of the month.

Now though Link was still working the usual customers in his private booth. He’d picked the job at the Jacky because it allowed him to work face-to-face with the customers. While a lot of dancers preferred to have a stage so they could avoid getting too much contact with the men they stripped for, Link was afraid of crowds and stages. He didn’t like the feeling of hundreds of eyes on him. He didn’t like working the private booths either, but it paid so much better than the waiter job he’d had before.

When Link had finally wriggled into his shorts and the glittery top he’d chosen for that night, he made his way over to his booth. It was at the far end of the dark hallway, a small room with a plush bench seat for the customer to sit on and mirrors at the wall. All the booths were separated by cheap satin curtains to create the illusion of privacy, but Link knew that the manager could see everything that was going on in the compartments, making sure that the customers didn’t break the club rules.

His first customer of the evening was already there when Link pulled the curtain to his booth open; a young man, maybe five years older than him, was sitting on the leather-upholstered seat at the other end of the tiny space. Link gave him a quick once-over to see what he could expect from this guy.

He was tall, even while he was sitting, and had long unkempt hair that was a bit greasy near the head. His beard was equally messy and in desperate need of a trim and some moisturiser just as his worn hoodie could have used a wash.

All in all it could have been worse, though, Link knew that. A lot of men didn’t feel compelled to take a shower before they visited a night club. The customer seemed like grooming wasn’t his top priority, but he was relatively young and didn’t have the look of a pervert about him. It wasn’t often that his customers were closer to twenty than to seventy.

Link put on his best seductive smile and walked over to the other man, his glittering high heels clicking on the black floor. “Hello there. How are you doing?” Link wasn’t very good at flirting with the customers, he felt uneasy about using pet names while talking to complete strangers. It was like some prostitutes didn’t want to be kissed by their johns— Link’s boundary was this, he couldn’t bring himself to calling the customers ‘sweetie’ or ‘babe’.

The man looked up at Link and barely hid his smirk. He glanced up and down Link’s body and licked his lips.

“Hey there, sugar,” he said and his voice was deep and even.

“Um, is this your first time here?” Link asked. “I’ve never seen you around, should I talk you through the rules?”

The customer shook his head. “No touching, no photos, I know. I’ve been here before. My usual’s not free and I just… noticed you recently.” He licked his lips again and stared hard at Link’s nipples through the semi-translucent shirt he was wearing.

“Oh, you noticed me?” Link grinned and started to sway his hips in time to the beat of the song which was pouring out of the small loudspeakers in the corner of the booth. If this guy had requested him specifically, maybe he could get a good tip out of him. He needed some extra cash for the obstetrician appointment he had scheduled for the next week.

“What’s your name, big boy?” he asked and turned around so that the customer got a good look on his ass in his tiny shorts.

“Rhett,” he heard the man mumble and the reply had come so quickly that Link was almost sure that this was his real name. He turned back around and smiled again. “Hi, Rhett,” he said softly and put his hands on both of Rhett’s knees. “You got a special request?”

Usually Link just danced for a while, showing off his body for the customers. He didn’t do a lot of close contact, and surprisingly often the men simply wanted someone to talk to. Rhett didn’t seem to be looking for conversation though, with the way he was spreading his skinny legs with his hand casually resting on his crotch.

“Just lemme look at you a bit,” he said, dark eyes raking over Link’s skin. Just seconds later he sounded almost shy when he asked: “Can you take your shirt off?”

Link shrugged. He didn’t do full nudity, but his chest was exposed more often than not and the glittering thing he was wearing at the moment wasn’t hiding much anyway. He grabbed the hem of the top and slowly pulled it over his head, trying to make the move look good for Rhett. The young man gasped slightly when he saw Link’s naked shaved chest. This time the tip of his pink tongue just stayed on his lips as he stared at Link. “Fuck, you’re lovely.”

Now that was something Link hadn’t heard often before from a customer. ‘Sexy’, ‘hot’ or ‘you’re lookin’ like a good slut’ was the usual vocabulary they used. Calling him lovely seemed strangely sweet and intimate to Link. It didn’t bother him; if anything it would get him more tips out of Rhett if the guy really liked him that much.

He dragged his fingertips over his pecs and tried to focus on the music in the background. He wasn’t a natural dancer, and especially since he’d started to become heavier and slightly wobbly on his high heels he had to work hard to make his body twirl and sway. 

The current song - _Keep Me High_ \- was slow and plaintive, and Link put his arms on Rhett’s shoulders and stepped between his outstretched legs. The man was so tall that even in this position his face was on eye level with Link’s collarbone. Link grabbed a fistful of Rhett’s hair, trying his best to ignore the greasiness of it, and pushed his head down so that he could see Link’s hips writhing to the low beat. 

He saw Rhett’s hands flying up to his sides and caught them just in time. “No touching, man,” he said quietly. He hoped that Rhett wasn’t one of those guys who made trouble when it came to the hands off rule. He was a big man, and Link wasn’t sure how he’d handle it if he decided to be difficult.

Rhett looked up at him and bit his upper lip. “Sorry, darlin’. You’re hard to resist.”

“Still, rules are rules, okay Rhett?” Link continued to dance until Rhett’s time was up. The young man’s admiring stare made him nervous. This customer’s behaviour was erratic, changing between shyness and open lechery.

When the music stopped and the lights in Link’s booth went back up, he saw that Rhett’s hands were gripping his jeans tightly and his jaw had gone slack. Link picked his shirt up from the floor and put it back on. “You okay, big man?” he asked when the guy still didn’t move.

“Um, yeah. That was… something. You’re good, sugar.” Rhett stood up and Link couldn’t help noticing the bulge in his stained trousers. He reached into his back pocket and pulled a fifty dollar bill out.

“Um. Here, for you,” he said and all of a sudden he appeared to be embarrassed again. Link took the money, slightly surprised by the large tip. Rhett already paid two dollars to the club manager for every minute he spent in Link’s booth; and he didn’t look like someone who could afford to spend large amounts of cash on strip clubs.

“Thank you, man,” Link said sincerely and Rhett gave him an awkward hand wave and left the room through the red curtain, ducking slightly under the doorframe.

Link had ten more customers after that, none of which tipped very well, and when he finally staggered out of the club after two in the morning, tired and sore, he had entirely forgotten about the strange tall man.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why I never the posted the rest of this story since it's been finished for ages. So, here it is.
> 
> I feel like my writing has improved in the six months since this was originally written and I didn't re-edit it before putting it on here, so please don't judge me based on this fic, I guess 🥴

The next day Link was already waiting for the first customer of the shift in his booth. He was wearing one of the outfits he hated, black leather and fishnet. It was itchy and uncomfortable, but customers seemed to love it and he really needed some big tips that night. He’d never have thought that being pregnant would be so goddamn expensive.

Vitamins, ultrasounds and pregnancy clothes regularly blew his monthly budget; he wanted the best for the kid and never tried to skimp on anything that could affect their well-being. In the first months he’d tried to save money by eating only once a day, but his obstetrician had made it abundantly clear that this would harm the foetus in the long run.

“Healthy parent, healthy foetus,” she’d said. She thought that Link wasn’t eating because he had an eating disorder; it was as if she didn’t notice his cheap clothes and desperate eyes. What would she say if she knew that he was dancing in four inch heels for hours every night, 20 weeks into his pregnancy?

The curtain was pulled aside and a tall man stepped into Link’s booth. It was the guy from the day before, Brad? Rhett, yes. Link was surprised to see him. Most customers came in once a week, twice maybe if they were feeling very lonely. It was unusual for someone to visit two evenings in a row.

“Hello, Rhett,” he said with a nod. It was often slightly awkward, that first moment of a dance. They both knew that Link would be nearly naked in a few minutes and they knew that Rhett would get a boner from it; until then they were just two men trying to avoid small-talk.

“Hey.” Rhett grinned at Link, apparently pleased that he’d remembered his name. “I’m back, sugar.”

“Oh, I can see that.” Link lifted his eyebrows. “What happened to your usual?” he asked.

Rhett blushed a little. “You’re better than him,” he said simply. He sat down on the leather bench and L noticed that he looked different today. He had obviously taken a shower, his hair was fluffed up and his shirt was clean, if a little worn.

“Still just wanna look or do you have a request today?” he asked, hoping that Rhett would choose the normal dance. He’d been having cramps all day and just the thought of spinning or twerking made him sick.

“Lookin’ is fine.” Rhett settled back against the wall and there it was again, that admiring expression which had creeped Link out the day before. He chose to ignore it and started to move along with Justin Timerlake’s ‘SexyBack’. It was a fast song, and he ended up twerking a little bit. When the pain became too much, he sat down in Rhett’s lap and tried to act as if it was part of the dance. He’d normally avoid that kind of contact with the customers, but he was exhausted and at least Rhett was clean that day.

The young man clearly enjoyed the extra attention. He stared up at Link with wide eyes and his tongue slipped out of his mouth. The red lights painted shadows on his face but Link could still see the blissful look on it. He looked as if Link was giving him the most wonderful gift just by rubbing up against him.

When the song ended Link leaned down and whispered into Rhett’s ear. “You showered. That’s good.” It was risky to say that kind of thing to a customer, Rhett could have easily taken offence and reported Link to his manager; however he just blushed and nodded.

He handed Link another big tip and hurried out of the booth before Link had the chance to say thank you.

\--

In just two nights, his new customer Rhett had paid for that month’s obstetrician appointment. Link sincerely hoped that he would become a regular and kept tipping so well— this guy could be baby’s golden ticket to a hospital birth.

And once again Rhett was the first one of the evening. Link nearly did a double-take when he saw him standing at the other end of the booth. The young man’s appearance had changed; his hair was slicked back with pomade, his beard had been trimmed and his button-up shirt was cheap but obviously new. Link took a couple of steps in his direction to take a closer look. Rhett looked good, so good that Link would’ve almost called him attractive.

“Big guy, what’d you do?” he asked with a hint of shock in his voice. It was just a haircut and some soap, but it made such a difference that Link couldn’t stop staring at his customer.

Rhett picked at the hem of his new shirt and kept his gaze on the floor. “What you said about me… showerin’, I… thought I’d make a bit of an effort,” he said flatly.

Link blinked. “For me?”

Link knew that he was nothing more than a body to the customers. He was two nipples; he was soft skin and an ass. He was faceless to them— soulless. And he preferred it that way, really. They were faceless too, the only thing that mattered was their wallet and how much of its contents would go into Link’s hands at the end of the dance.  
He wasn’t used to any customer ‘making an effort’ for a stripper like him.

Rhett shrugged and plopped down onto the leather seat. “Wanna start?” he asked briskly, and suddenly he was just like all the other machos who came into Link’s booth again.

“Yeah, sure.” Link waited for the music to start and began to sway his hips the slightest bit to a tune that was only playing in his head. He couldn’t stop thinking— this was the third day in a row that Rhett had booked his booth. He obviously liked Link, so Link had to find a way to keep it like that.

“Hey, Rhett,” he said as the first song finally picked up with a slow and almost wistful tune. It was Portishead’s _Glory Box_ , Link liked to dance to that. Slow movements, writhing hips.

“I thought since you made an extra effort today, maybe I make one too? Maybe you’d like something special?”

Rhett hadn’t taken up on that offer the nights before, but now his eyes widened and he nodded barely noticeably. “Er… Iwannatouchyou,” he mumbled quickly. Link swallowed. The no touching rule was important to him, and he didn’t break it often— but this tall guy promised to be a good regular. Furthermore, it was Friday which meant that the manager was somewhere else drinking his guts out and his stand-in never bothered to check in on the customers to make sure the rules were being followed.

“Okay.” Link stepped forward and settled between Rhett’s legs. “One touch,” he whispered and arched his back to give Rhett access to every inch of his body. He expected the man to grab his ass, every customer who was given the opportunity to touch did. His breath hitched when he felt a feather light touch on his chest instead. Link looked down and saw Rhett stroking a line between his pecs and lower to his navel with just the tip of a finger. In the orange LED light it seemed as if his finger was one with Link’s skin.

“Thank you,” Rhett mumbled after he’d removed his hand from Link’s body.

“No problem, man,” Link said and took a step back. He caught a whiff of something sweet and fresh and realised that it had to be Rhett’s deodorant. There was a brief moment where Link imagined pressing his face into Rhett’s shoulder to smell more of it and he was instantly angry with himself. Just because this customer applied the minimal standards of hygiene didn’t mean that he had to behave like a bitch all of a sudden.

_You’re such a slut. You throw yourself at every dick that walks by, why should I believe that this bastard is my kid?_

“You okay sugar?” Rhett looked concerned.

“Yeah, sorry.” Link smiled and turned his attention back to his customer. The track’s base line was wailing in the background and he started to thrust his crotch forward in time with it. Rhett licked his lips, concern quickly forgotten as he watched Link twist his body for him.

Link was sure that he had Rhett on the hook now. The young man would come back.

When the time was up Rhett was reluctant to leave his seat.

“Come on, big man, I’ve got other customers,” Link said and patted his shoulder. It was important to let him know that the fact that he’d been allowed to touch didn’t mean that he was special. The other man grunted and made his way over to the curtain, shoving a bill into Link’s hands. Ten dollars.

Link must’ve failed to hide his disappointment because Rhett shot him an apologetic glance and scratched his beard. “I kinda blew my budget on you the other day, cutie,” he said. It wasn’t an apology, just an explanation. So Rhett wasn’t wealthy. That was a shame, but ten dollars were still okay. A lot of guys didn’t tip at all.

“It’s cool. Thank you,” Link said. Rhett gave him another long look and pressed his lips together as he left through the curtain. He ran into the middle aged man waiting outside and Link heard a distinct “fuck you man”, making him smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next weeks, Rhett was always Link’s first customer of the evening. Sometimes he would come in when Link was already in his booth, sometimes he’d be waiting for him in front of the curtain. He obviously tried to look nice. Link noticed that he was always dressed in the same two shirts, changing daily; those were probably the only button-ups the young man owned. If he hadn’t known better, Link would have believed that Rhett had a crush on him.

He certainly didn’t understand why a guy who couldn’t even afford a third shirt spent over one hundred bucks a week on a mediocre dancer like him.

They fell into an easy rhythm; a few greeting words, two songs and then Rhett left with a quick “You were good, sugar”. Soon Link learned a few things about his new customer and he used them to his his advantage. 

Rhett liked it when Link scratched his ears while he was dancing close to him, but he never dared to ask for it. 

Rhett loved the blue shirt with the wide neckline that exposed Link’s chest. 

Once a week, usually on Fridays, Link gifted him a special and each time he requested to touch him. Sometimes he chose the front, on other days he ran his calloused fingers over Link’s shaved legs, and he was always so gentle that it was almost irritating.

It was at some point in week 25 of his pregnancy that Link realised that it had become impossible to hide his baby bump. It had grown to the point where it looked as if he’d swallowed a football whole. Link stared at his body in the mirror in the dirty dressing room of the club for several minutes and then started to cry his lungs out. His looks were his only insurance, they were his way to pay the bills that kept flooding his letter box in a seemingly incessant stream.

The manager had assured Link that there’d be men who’d still pay to watch him, but he knew that those guys would be pervs. He’d degenerated into a freak show.

There was nothing he could do about it, he felt even more helpless than usually. Most of his shorts weren’t able accommodate his changing body anymore, so he had to wear panties which were more elastic, but left his crotch and legs almost completely exposed. The shirt Link chose was wide enough to conceal his rounded shapes even though the sheer black fabric still let his nipples peek through if the light was right.

Rhett was already waiting for him, slouching on the plush seat in Link’s booth. The crease between his brows indicated that he was in a foul mood; he looked absolutely exhausted, his hair greasy and messy like on the first day he’d come in.

“Oh, big man,” Link sighed, amping up his usually subtle flirting. He fucking needed some tips tonight. “You had a long day, huh? Workin’ hard?” He had no idea what Rhett did during the day, and it didn’t matter really as long as he made money with it that he could spend on Link. Stroking his hands gently over Rhett’s bearded cheeks, Link ignored the music and simply sat down on one of his customer’s knees.

Rhett grunted and closed his eyes. “Don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Okay,” Link said and got up. “I’mma make ya better.” Rhett looked up at him and smiled. “I’d like that, sugar.”

Link smiled back and started to dance, Rhett’s hungry eyes on his body. “Your outfit’s fucking hot.”

“Mhm, you like it?”

“Can I touch you? Please?” Rhett asked. His hands were flinching in his lap.

Link didn’t want to be touched. He didn’t feel like he wanted another man’s hands on his skin, didn’t want anyone touching his baby bump. But he had no choice. “Are you gonna tip me nicely, Rhett?”

Rhett swallowed and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. It was empty safe for two ten dollar bills. “That’s… that’s all I’ve got. It’s the end of the month, I…”

“That’s enough.” Link wondered briefly when he’d become the kind of guy who took another man’s last penny, but it wasn’t like he wanted the cash for himself. It was for the baby; everything he did was for his child. He took the bills and stuffed them into the waistband of his underwear. “What do you want to do?”

“Chest,” Rhett immediately said as he already yanked Link forward. Link quickly unbuttoned his translucent shirt and pushed it down over his shoulders. He held his breath in an attempt to suck his stomach in, which was stupid because he was sure that Rhett already knew that he was pregnant.

Rhett pulled Link closer and ran his fingers over Link’s naked torso. His hands settled on his bloated belly. “Have you gained weight?” he asked with a smirk.

“Um…” Link mumbled, trying to come up with an answer. Was Rhett really too stupid to recognise the shape of his body? Suddenly Link felt a familiar sharp pain in his stomach. The baby had kicked him. Rhett pulled his hands back as if Link’s skin had burnt him.

“What was that? Fuck, what-” he said and put his hands back on Link’s belly, feeling around. His voice was barely a whisper when he asked: “Are you… Are you pregnant?”

Link jerked back and instinctively tried to cover his lower body with his arms. Rhett was the first customer to ask him about his bump. Others had noticed it and some even requested another dancer because of it, but they didn’t ask him questions.

Link kept his gaze on the floor and turned his body away from Rhett. “You can get another dancer,” he said quietly.

Rhett looked at him wide-eyed and shocked. “Another- no, no I don’t want-”

“It’s okay, Rhett, honestly. Just go. You don’t want to pay for a preggo, I get it.” Link slid his shirt back up over his shoulders and held it together in front of his belly.

“Sugar, I—” Rhett opened his mouth but no more words came out. He jumped up and fled the booth, leaving Link alone in the dim lights.

——

Rhett didn’t come to the club the next day, or the day after that. Link didn’t care. Sure, the man had been a good tipper, but there were other men who tipped Link. Other men who wanted to touch his body even though there was a child inside of it.

Link danced and scrubbed floors, danced and cried when the baby kicked him at night. His obstetrician noticed the marks on his swollen ankles from the heels he squeezed them into and told him to keep strict bedrest for at least a week. Link nodded and drove to the club for his next shift.

He only had three more months before the child would come. He was running out of time and he needed to make money, no matter if it hurt, no matter if he was tired, no matter if Rhett was there or not.

——

Rhett was a simple man, or at least he liked to think so. He busted his ass every day from 7 to 5, working on a construction site, and if he wanted to waste the money he earned on a pretty boy in the night, so what? He was a man, he had needs and there were more than enough guys in this city who were willing to satisfy them for a few bucks. It was so much less trouble than dating.

He wasn’t a macho, but he usually didn’t bother to remember the faces of the men who danced for him. He didn’t bother to be nice to them either, they were always available and easy to replace. It had been such an easy game to play until he’d met this one dancer. Rhett didn’t know his name, but why would he need to call him anything when there was nothing and no one else on his mind?

There was something about him, the way he didn’t try to flirt with the customers, the way he moved his body like he was really listening to the music, not just trying to look sexy. Maybe it was just the way his eyes shined even in the red light of a cheap strip club.

Rhett knew that it was one of the oldest clichés in the world, catching feelings for the ‘stripper with a heart of gold’, but he couldn’t help it. He was addicted to the way he’d smile, the way he’d let Rhett touch him.

It had been okay, Rhett had had it under control. He’d played it cool.

And then he’d felt a tiny foot kick his hand through the soft skin of the dancer’s belly. The guy was pregnant, fucking pregnant. It drove Rhett crazy, the thought of his dancer stripping for disgusting, horny men while he had a child inside of his body. The fact that he was working at all was enough to keep Rhett awake at night. 

Was there no one to look after him? What kind of asshole put a baby into someone, and then left them in a shithole like the Sugar Club? If the dancer had been Rhett’s he would’ve never let him go. He would’ve rather killed than to let any stranger touch this beautiful man.

And Rhett knew that it was stupid, he knew that he wasn’t Richard Gere, okay? He knew he didn’t have a lot of money, but he would give it all to this one man if he’d only let him. Rhett would take care of him and his child, and if it meant that he’d work double shifts for the rest of his life.

Because for the first time in his 23 years on this planet Rhett felt like he had a responsibility.

For the first time he felt like he loved someone else more than he loved himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Rhett returned five days after his discovery. It was after midnight, and he’d spent the evening in a bar building up some liquid courage. Not that he was nervous, no. There was no way Rhett’s dancer would turn his offer down. He’d be crazy not to want to live with him, to let Rhett take care of him and the baby.

The manager smirked at Rhett when he arrived at the front desk of the seedy club. Rhett had been on good terms with the older man, but since he knew that the guy took advantage of his pregnant   
dancer Rhett had developed a strong urge to punch him in the face.

“Number 8” he said, unnecessarily, because they both knew very well that Rhett always visited the same booth.

“Couldn’t stay away, huh?” The manager winked. “Well, that’ll be thirty, son. His rates went up this week.”

Rhett took his wallet out and handed the money over. “Why are the rates up?” he asked.

“Your sweetheart is a special now, young man. There aren’t many boys who can dance with a baby bump this big.” It sounded as if he was telling Rhett about a prize-winning cow.

Rhett just grunted in response, swallowing his anger down. He made his way over to the dark passage adjacent to the booths. Rhett never looked left or right to catch glimpses of the other dancers anymore; their cheap charms had long ceased to attract his attention. 

After he’d stepped into the booth at the every end of the hallway he heard someone yell “Hey knock-up boy, you’ve got a customer!” and a few seconds later there was the familiar clicking of heels on the floor, accompanied by a light voice. “Okay okay. My name is Link , by the way, you jerk.”

Rhett’s heart stopped when he realised that this was his dancer’s voice, this was L. He started to grin like an idiot as he repeated the name quietly. L.

The curtains were pulled back and like all the nights before the dancer’s presence hit Rhett like a truck. Every single time it caught him by surprise; the way Link’s smooth legs looked in his 5 inch heels, the way his lean body was accentuated by tight leather, satin or fishnet. Rhett could get off on other men, of course, but Link catapulted him right to the edge of cumming just by standing on the other side of a room— even if he looked tired like today. Rhett noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the way he held his rounded stomach as if he was in pain.

It had to be exhausting, Rhett thought, to dance all night with the extra weight of another person inside of your belly. He’d never thought about that, had never wondered if a dancer might be tired when he performed for him at the end of the night.

Link did that to him, made him question things which had always been a given to Rhett. Things like if it was okay to pay boys for showing their body to him, and if they ever really had a choice.

Things like if it was time for him to take responsibility for some of his actions, something the father of his dancer’s child had obviously failed to do.

Link had stopped in the entrance, as far way from Rhett as the tiny room allowed. “Hello,” he said and it sounded a little bit cold. “I see you changed your mind about watching pregnant strippers.”

“No, I—” Rhett had left the week before because he’d been shocked and confused; not because he was disgusted by the fact that Link was pregnant. “Can we talk? Please?” Rhett scratched his beard, suddenly nervous.

“This isn’t a freaking support group, man. You don’t pay me to talk.” Link crossed over to Rhett and pushed him onto the bench seat. “You pay, I dance.” He started to shake his hips but Rhett grabbed his wrists and held them tightly. It took all of his strength not to give in and just stare at Link’s perfect body and forget about the reason why he’d come to the club.

“Come on, sugar, just listen. I want to offer you something,” he said.

Link frowned. “What?”

Rhett took a deep breath, glad that he was too drunk to really think about what he was saying. “Would ya, would ya come and live with me?”

“ _What_?!” Link yanked his wrists free and took a few steps back. “Are you crazy, man? Of course I won’t live with you! What are you-”

“Fuck, no, I didn’t mean like… just like… I wanna take care of you, fuck. Look at you, you’re fucking pregnant, and you work in this shithole, and where the fuck is the father?” Rhett knew that he was babbling, and shit maybe he should have done this while being sober after all.

“The father is none of your freaking business, Rhett. Just like my kid and I don’t concern you, you hear?” Link leaned against one of the mirror walls and frowned at Rhett. “Why would you wanna offer something like that?”

Rhett was silent for a few seconds. He had never expected such an unequivocal rejection from the dancer, and he wasn’t prepared to explain his motives.   
“Because I really, really like you,” he finally said honestly, glancing down. Link shook his head.

“You don’t even know me.”

Rhett felt like he knew Link well enough to know that he was the most amazing person in the entire world, but something told him that the other man didn’t want to hear that. “  
Then let me get to know you. Come on,” he started one last try. “Come with me.”

“No!” Link shook his head again and took Rhett’s arm to drag him out of his booth. “You’ve got some nerve, waltzing in here and expecting me to swoon and fall into your arms like some maid in distress. That’s not how it works, man, this isn’t a freaking rom-com.”

Rhett had to admit that while hadn’t exactly imagined Link to faint, he’d really thought that the young man would be happy about his offer and gladly pack his stuff and follow him. This was turning out to be much more complicated.

“Get out,” Link said and Rhett didn’t try to fight when the young man pushed him through the curtains.  
He realised that he needed to go home and sober up, but he wasn’t going to give up yet. Link and his baby needed help, Rhett knew that. He just had find a way to make Link see it too.

He smiled at Link who still looked furious, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his brows knitted tightly together. Before Link had time to react, Rhett had already leant forward and pressed his mouth to the dancer’s belly. “Don’t worry, little worm,” he whispered with a slight slur. “I’ll be back.”


	5. Chapter 5

Rhett’s apartment was small. 

It wasn’t even twice the size of the shoebox Link had stayed in so far, just one room with a kitchen unit and a tiny bathroom leading off to the side. Squeezed into an alcove on the left side was a full sized bed.

Link put his gym bag down on the table next to the kitchen and looked around. “So far, I don’t see an improvement, man,” he said. Rhett stood in the apartment door, holding Link’s heavier belongings and shuffling his feet nervously.

It had taken him only five days to convince Link to come with him; five days in which he’d come to the club as soon as he’d gotten off work and spent the entire evening in front of Link’s booth. Link had ignored him, the customers had stared at him and the manager had threatened to throw him out until Rhett had agreed to pay an hourly price for standing in the hallway.

Link had been furious at the young man’s proposition, thinking that Rhett was trying to tie Link to himself, but the more he’d thought about it, the more he was tempted to give in and go with Rhett.

He’d realised that whatever Rhett would offer him, it couldn’t be worse than the hell he was living in now. His ex’s debts were crushing him, and there was no way that he would be able to continue dancing once he’d reached the last phase of his pregnancy. It was only week 28 and he could barely move as it was. He’d lost his cleaning job because of it, and as soon as he’d be forced to stop stripping, Link would have to start spreading his legs instead.

If there was even the tiniest chance that this guy could give his baby a remotely normal start into their life, Link had to take it and hope that Rhett would turn out to be his guardian angel and not his ruin.

And so he’d called Rhett into his booth the night before and told him to pick him up the next morning. Rhett had looked as if he was about to cry.  
He’d picked Link up and loaded his bags into the boot of his battered Toyota with an obnoxiously big smile on his bearded face. Link had been silent and stared out of the car window as Rhett drove them through the seedy neighbourhood to the slightly run-down apartment building he lived in.

“I know it’s not much,” he said now that they were standing in his small apartment. “But I can get more money, I can take another shift on the construction site and try to get some bigger place. And the main thing is that you don’t have to strip anymore, isn’t it?”

Link shrugged and started to wander around the apartment. It wasn’t too bad, in fact it was surprisingly neat and clean. The walls were painted in a pleasant yellow and the furniture was cheap but relatively new. On the coffee table stood a bunch of flowers in a water-filled Nutella jar. “I didn’t have you down as the kind of guy that has, um-” Link sat down on the couch and smelled at the flowers, “-that keeps gerbera in his apartment.”

“Um, those are actually for you. I didn’t know what kind you like, but the woman in the store said these are popular, so…” Rhett scratched his beard and blushed. “She said they symbolise luck for pregnancy and babies or something, I- I dunno.” He seemed embarrassed about his gesture, but Link smiled and said: “That’s actually pretty sweet, Rhett.”

He noticed a desk with several computer screens and keyboards next to the bed. “Are you a gamer?” It was strange to ask these things only now that he already lived with Rhett. Link knew absolutely nothing about him except that he apparently was a construction worker.

“No no, I design computer programmes and code interfaces,” Rhett said casually and started to put Link’s bags away. Link shot him a surprised glance. “Isn’t that like, intellectual stuff?” he asked. ‘Coding interfaces’ sounded like something out of a spy film, and so far he hadn’t gotten the impression that Rhett was very smart. “I wouldn’t have thought that you…”

Rhett shrugged. “It ain’t that complicated. I’m not a genius or somethin’, I’m just good with numbers.”

Link nodded. “So, what’s the plan, big guy?” He was still not entirely sure of Rhett’s motives.

Rhett glanced at his watch and groaned. “Shit, I’m already late for work, so- there’s food in the cupboards over there, there’s the TV… just make yourself at home, sugar.”

“You don’t want me to do anything for you?” Link asked. He’d expected to at least be asked to clean the apartment or something along that lines.

“Maybe you could run down to the stores and get some beer for me?”

Link laughed and said: “What do you think, man? Ya think they’ll sell a seventeen years old preggo booze?”

Rhett’s jaw dropped so low that Link was almost sure that his scraggly beard was the only thing that kept it attached to the rest of his face. “You’re what?” Rhett asked incredulously.

“I’m seventeen,” Link repeated, wondering why Rhett was so surprised. “Do I look older to you or what?”

“I’m gonna be sick,” Rhett mumbled and rested his forehead against the wall next to him. When he looked back up Link saw that his skin had turned a light red. His voice almost cracked when he spoke. “You’re a freaking child, Link. What the hell were you doing in that club?”

“Hey now,” Link tried to protest, “you’re not that much older than me. That bush in your face ain’t fooling me. And you didn’t seem to mind my age when you had your hands down my panties.” 

None of the customers bothered to ask how old Link was. Even the club manager hadn’t asked, he’d just told Link to strip and then he’d given him the job without any more questions.

Rhett’s face was flushed deep red now, and Link could see his hands shaking. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

Link shook his head, clueless. “What are you sorry about? You always tipped me well, never touched me against my will. Seventeen or eighteen, what’s the big deal?”

“But-”

“Don’t get so worked up, man. I’m pretty sure you watched strippers younger than me before.” Link gave Rhett a small, sad smile. “Just go to work, Rhett. I’ll be fine.”

Rhett left reluctantly, and Link found himself alone in the apartment. He realised that for the first time in more than a year he had a whole day to himself. No cleaning, no loud music and no groping hands on his body. “Just you and me, little sprout,” he said, gently stroking his belly.

He spent the day on the couch, watching TV and munching on every snack he could find in Rhett’s kitchen. It felt like heaven to stretch his feet out. Link hadn’t visited his obstetrician in a while, but he didn’t need a doctor to know that he was ill. Maybe he could afford to pay for an examination some time the next month.

When Rhett came home, he found Link fast asleep on the couch, his mouth slightly open. The young man awoke with a start when the door clicked shut and wiped a bit of saliva from his mouth. “Oh, hey Rhett,” he said. “I’m sorry I fell asleep. I get so tired lately.”

“Hey sugar. That’s okay, I’m glad you could get a bit of rest,” Rhett said and put his keys and bag down. His clothes and hair were dusty and he had the same exhausted look on his face that Link knew from the club. It was weird to see Rhett outside of the booth, to watch him go into his kitchen after a long day of work and to sit next to him on the sofa instead of dancing half naked.

Rhett was quiet as they watched TV together and only spoke to ask whether Link wanted to use the bathroom first. He offered to sleep on the couch, which was absolutely ridiculous given his height. Link just crawled into the narrow bed and waited for R to follow. When the tall man lay down next to him Link knew that the moment of truth had arrived.

He slid down and let his hand travel down to Rhett’s crotch to find the other one half hard.

Rhett jerked back and turned his head to him. “Link, what are you doing?” he whispered in the dark.

“I’m getting you off. Isn’t that why you invited me here?”

“No, Link!” Rhett sat up and Link’s fingers slipped off of his length. “No, I lo- I really like you, and I want to be with you eventually, but only if you want that too. I want what you want, I don’t expect anything from you. I invited you here because I want you and the little one to be safe.”

It took Link a little while to process that information. He’d been almost completely certain that Rhett expected sex in return for the board and lodge he was giving him. Link had been fully prepared for it when he’d accepted the other man’s offer, and he thought that if he had to sleep with someone to survive he’d prefer it to be the same man every night instead of various strangers.

“You- don’t want to fuck me?” he asked, just to make sure.

Rhett groaned and rubbed his palms over his face. “Of course I want to sleep with you, Link,” he said. “I can’t think about anything else when you’re as much as in the same zip code as me. But I won’t take advantage of you.”

“Oh. Okay.” Link was still not entirely convinced. There had to be a catch somewhere; if Link had learned anything in his life it was that nothing ever came for free, especially not for boys like him. “What do you want me to do for you then?”

Rhett sighed. “Sleep, Link. I want you to shut your pretty mouth and sleep.”

\--

It took a while for Rhett to get used to another person’s presence in his apartment.

This Link was very different to the enticing stripper he’d appeared to be in the club, and Rhett wanted to slap himself for thinking Link would act like he did in the private booth when he was at home.

Rhett had convinced himself that he genuinely liked Link on a deeper level, that he was only taking him in because he wanted to care for him and his child. He had to admit though that a tiny part of himhad hoped that having Link in his apartment would be like a 24/7 sex dream, which it wasn’t, as it turned out. Link had much more sass out of the private booth and liked to talk back; he was eating all the time (leaving crumbs everywhere) and he snored. He swapped his heels and crop tops for sweatpants once he was inside the apartment and moaned a lot about his swollen feet.

Still, Rhett learned more about this other Link every day and he loved every new layer he discovered. Link was quick-witted and goofy, he loved trashy TV and was a terrible cook. He had his very own personality that went far beyond his stripper exterior.

Link would have never asked for it, but Rhett noticed very soon that Link urgently needed some supplies. Since his dancing outfits had stayed at the club, he only owned about three sets of clothes which didn’t fit his belly anymore. After the first few days he started wearing some of Rhett’s trousers and his wide t shirts which were far too long but left enough room for his swollen middle.

On the first Saturday after Link’s move Rhett got off work early and picked Link up to take him shopping. Not that he had the money for it, on the contrary, but he’d just agreed to take some additional night shifts on the construction site so he hoped that he could pay off any debts he’d have to make.

Link was wearing a pair of grey joggers and Rhett’s oldest plaid shirt, one that had the sleeves cut off. It looked ridiculous, the way his bare arms were poking out of the shirt, but Rhett thought that it was adorabl.  
He was glancing around the mall, looking for reactions on other peoples’s faces. He was nervous, afraid they would see through him and realise that he wasn’t really good enough to have Link. They would call him out for taking advantage of the young man’s situation, his need for safety.

“Can we go to the baby store?” Link asked excitedly. He was looking around with the enthusiasm of a child in a candy shop.

“I thought we were going to get clothes for you, Link.”

Link. pouted and Rhett felt his heart melting. His crush had really blossomed into a deep affection over the last week he’d spent with the other man, and the odd new emotions made Rhett uncomfortable. It felt like a constant itch in his heart.

“Nooo, Rhett, we need stuff for the little one! The belly will be gone in a couple of months, it would be a waste to buy pregnancy clothes,” Link protested.

The casual way Link had used the word ‘we’ made Rhett’s head spin. It almost sounded as if the baby was his child as well. “Um, okay,” he conceded and Link smiled happily and dragged him into the direction of the Buy Buy Baby. 

Rhett glanced at the multitude of things on display inside of the store; cribs, clothes, car seats and tons of other stuff he didn’t even know the name of. A middle-aged woman in an obnoxiously pink shirt approached them the second they stepped through the door. The fake cheerfulness she radiated was wiped off of her heavily made-up face the second she caught sight of Link’s young features and Rhett’s dusty work trousers.

“Yes?” she asked curtly.

“Um, we need…” Rhett wasn’t sure what they needed. He was an only child and had never had much contact with babies. He glanced over at L.

“We need a crib, clothes, some milk bottles…” the younger man counted on his fingers.

The store assistant lifted her eyebrows and asked: “You don’t have any of the basics yet?” She gave Link the once over and added “How far along are you, twenty five, twenty eight weeks? You’re a little late, young man.”

Link blushed and ducked his head. Of course he didn’t have anything yet, he hadn’t even had enough money for food until last week.

“We’re getting it now, aren’t we?” Rhett didn’t see why you should get baby stuff months before the actual birth anyway.

The woman nodded and beckoned them to follow her to the crib section. “Now, I’m not certain if we offer anything in your, well, price range,” she said with a meaningful glance at Link’s worn sweatpants. “Maybe you should try one of the bigger stores like Walma-”

“My money is not your concern, miss,” Rhett cut her off brusquely. He knew that game all too well, had been snubbed too many times before because of his social background. It was as if some people were able to smell that he was from a blue-collar neighbourhood.

Link grabbed one of Rhett’s fingers and held him back. “Maybe we should really go to a cheaper place, Rhett,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t need anything fancy, the basic stuff is okay.” He seemed embarrassed.

“Nuh uh.” Rhett shook his head. “Don’t listen to that cow, yeah? We have every right to be here.” He pulled Link with him to catch up with the saleswoman who had stopped in front of a large display with cribs and beds in various sizes. 

“I hope you have thought about what kind of crib you’d like to purchase. We have standard issues, but of course there are also convertibles, minis, portable versions… maybe you’d like a changing table combo or something more modern?” she said and looked at the both of them expectantly. Rhett had no idea what she meant with all these terms, and judging by the nervous expression on Link’s face he was just as clueless.

“You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you. You are completely unprepared, my gosh.” The woman sighed and clicked her tongue. “That poor child, that is why I always say that you have to _think_ before you spread your legs, boy, why didn’t you just consider for a minute-”

“Hey!” Rhett barked sharply. “Don’t you talk to him like that!” It was too late though, Link’s bottom lip was already trembling and a few tears slipped down his cheeks. He quickly tried to hide his face in his elbow and Rhett felt his blood boiling at the sight. He didn’t know Lnk’s story yet, but however he had ended up in this situation, he didn’t deserve to be lambasted like this by some self-satisfied bigoted bitch.

He flipped the saleswoman the middle finger and turned around to comfort Link. “Hey,” he said soothingly. “Don’t cry, sugar, she’s not worth it.” He felt helpless, like he had all the times his mom had cried over his father when he’d been a child.

Link sniffled. “But she’s right,” he sobbed. “I don’t know anything about babies, I don’t even have money to buy one freaking diaper! I am the worst father ever, they’ll take the baby away from me…”

“That’s nonsense, Link.” Link tried to turn away but Rhetheld him steadily by his arms. “Hey, hey look at me. You worked every day for the last six months, you busted your ass in that club. You are the best father this baby could possibly have.”

“But I still failed. It was not enough, and now I’m living off your money and-”

“You didn’t fail.” Rhett said firmly. “You’re not living off my money, I invited you to live _with_ me, okay? You have been great so far, now you just let me take care of you so you can focus on your baby, yeah?”

Link stared at Rhett with tears eyes, his nose running and his face red and puffy. “Okay,” he whispered. “Thank you, Rhett.” He got on his tip toes and pressed a small peck into Rhett’s bearded cheek. It was the first time he showed any real, voluntary affection towards him if one didn’t count the attempted hand job in the first night.

It was so soft, so different to the touches Rhett had received from Link during their time in the private booth that Rhett needed half a minute to recover from it. It was strange that after he had watched Link practically naked for so many hours, after he had touched his skin so often already, this little kiss seemed like the first time that it really counted.

He gave Link a weak smile and said: “Let’s teach that stupid cow a lesson and buy this whole store empty, yes?”


	6. Chapter 6

The cardboard boxes and bags with images of giggling kids printed on them took up the entire space next to the couch, and the sight made Link giddy with anticipation. They had only bought the items that were absolutely essential, but he was still not sure how they were supposed to fit it into the tiny apartment. 

If that would happen at all. Rhett hadn’t mentioned how long he would let Link stay. Maybe he would throw him out the minute the baby was there.

Rhett was working on his computers again. He did a lot on these screens, there were a lot of numbers and blinking stuff Link didn’t understand. He had no idea why Rhett was a construction guy when he was clever enough to do this kind of thing.

“What are you doing?” he asked. In the beginning he’d thought it was good that Rhett spent so much time on his programming, leaving Link some space for himself, but now that he was starting to get to know the young man better he couldn’t help feeling a bit neglected when Rhett came home and directly went to his numbers and pixels.

“Um, I’m designing a communication system. For coded messages, you know? Just playing around with different ways to protect an account from digital attack.”

Link bent over his chair to look at the screen. He didn’t notice the way Rhett broke out in a sweat because of their closeness. Link took a bite of his toast, crumbs flying all over Rhett’s keyboard. “That’s really good,” he mumbled around the food, even though he had not the faintest clue what all these numbers meant. “You could make a ton of money out of this, babe.”

Rhett glanced at him with a smile. “You called me babe,” he said, almost smugly. Link coughed and quickly turned his head away. He unfolded his body and stepped away from the desk. “Don’t be stupid, Rhett.” He tried to sound cold and distant, and judging by Rhett’s expression he succeeded. “That’s how I talk to all the customers.” That wasn’t true, but Rhett didn’t have to know that.

“Yes. I’m a customer,” Rhett mumbled while he stared at the bread crumbs on his desk.

“Don’t be like that, Rhett. You asked me to come here. I never said we’d become more, and yes, not long ago you paid me to dance for you. Now you’re giving me food in exchange for… what? My affection? More than dancing? What do ya want, man. I’m not a whore, you know.” Link didn’t even know why he was so mean.

“I just wanna protect you,” Rhett whispered. “Just want to care for you.”

It was the same answer every time, every time he said that he wanted to care for Link. It was driving Link mad, this softness and carefulness that didn’t fit the sleazy macho type Rhett had presented in the club.

He was so nice lately, buying Link all that stuff for the kid. Link felt bad for his harsh words. He grabbed Rhett’s arm and dragged him over to the couch.

Once Rhett was sitting on the leather seat he asked: “Do you still find me attractive? Even with the whole pregnancy thing?”

Rhett scratched his beard and looked down into his lap. He nodded barely noticeably. “Very.”

Link nodded too, happy about Rhett’s answer. “I can dance for you, okay? Let me do something nice for ya,” he said and walked over to the bathroom. “Just gimme a minute.”

“What? Link, no, you don’t have to-”

“I want to, okay? I know you like to watch me, and dancing is just about the only thing I’m good at. You’re exhausted, you work so much. You deserve it.” And that was really it, Link just wanted Rhett to relax a bit after his long day.

He went into the other room and stepped out of his sweatpants, putting on a pair of tight boxers instead. Over that he put one of Rhett’s big shirts, leaving it completely unbuttoned to expose his chest. It looked a bit strange, not as sexy as his usual outfits, but it would have to do.

Link stepped back into the living room and quickly put the lights out, so that only the muted TV shed its dim blue light on the couch. Rhett was sitting there, nervously fidgeting. Link took his phone and opened the music folder. He wanted a slow song, since he really wasn’t in the mood for twerking. His stomach aches had gotten worse, the pain almost constant now. He wished he’d asked Rhett to take him to the doctor instead of the mall; no he’d have to wait at least a few weeks before he could ask for the money for an examination.

After he’d clicked on a song, he tossed the phone aside and waited for the beat to start up.

“ _C’mere, big boy_ ,” Chrstina Aguilara’s sombre voice floated out of the speakers and Link smiled as he realised that he’d inadvertently picked a song that contained the same nickname he’d given Rhett. He started to rotate his hips to the rhythmic jazz sounds, something that turned out to be very hard with the extra pounds, so the move ended up a little clumsy.

Rhett seemed to enjoy it anyway though, he licked his lips and breathed heavily.

“ _There’s no need to feel no shame  
Relax and sip from my champagne._”

The young man reached up but hesitated, his hands hovering over Link’s waist.

“We’re not at the club. You can touch all you like, big guy.” Link smirked. “On the house.”

Rhett swallowed thickly and his eyes raked over Link’s body the way they had done in the club, only that now it seemed to Link as if they were softer and lighter. _Almost loving_ , he thought, but he pushed that thought away very quickly. Maybe Rhett wanted to care for him, yes, but he’d never fall in love with a stripper. He wanted Link’s body.

“ _I got ya breaking into a sweat_ …”

He took the taller man’s hands and placed them on his hips. Rhett’s touches were featherlight and gentle as always. His fingertips grazed Link’s baby bump and stroked the stretched flesh reverently. Link didn’t like to be reminded of the belly, it made him feel unsexy. He turned around and ground his ass on Rhett’s knees instead, drawing a tiny moan out of him.

“Fuck Link, _fuck_. You’re so hot, I can’t believe you’re in my freaking apartment…” Rhett grunted. Link moved back on his lap, sliding down until he could feel Rhett’s erection against his backside. For once he wasn’t embarrassed to get contact with a man’s arousal during a dance; he’d always refused to touch customer’s dicks, but having Rhett rubbing up against him felt almost good. Link turned around again and settled on the couch so that he could reach Rhett’s. crotch and explore his erection with his fingers, music and dancing completely forgotten.

Rhett moaned louder but shook his head and removed Link’s fingers. “No- ugh, fuck- no, don’t Link…”

“But I wanna-” Link began.

“No, we can’t! You’re too young, I’m taking advantage, no. Please stand up.”

Link wanted to tell Rhett that it was okay; that even though he wouldn’t enjoy to have sex, he wanted Rhett to feel good to repay him for everything he was doing for him. In a brief moment of clarity he realised that this probably was what ‘taking advantage’ meant, this desperate feeling of owing to R and having just one way of paying him back.

He slipped off of Rhett and sat down on the couch, curling up with his knees drawn to his belly. Rhett jumped up, his trousers still tented, and rushed into the bathroom. The door clicked shut with a loud noise that made Link wince. It was obvious what Rhett was doing now.

Occasionally there were little moans audible through the flimsy bathroom door. Link cranked the volume of the TV up and tried to ignore his own hard-on. This had never happened before; he had never been aroused after dancing, he had never been aroused just listening to another man’s pleasure. With his ex he had rarely felt desire, usually he hadn’t even come during sex.

However the thought of Rhett in the tiny bathroom, wasting his pleasure on his own fist instead of him made Link’s stomach tighten. He felt tears rising up behind his face and wiped them angrily away.  
He could’ve made Rhett feel so good. He was good at that, why wouldn’t R let him?

It only took a few more minutes until the door opened and Rhett stepped back into the main room, sweaty and smelling of lust.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Link scooted over and Rhett sat back down on the couch, his belt still open. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “That was nice.” His face spoke a different language than his words; he looked so miserable.

“Why wouldn’t ya…?” Link asked cautiously.

Rhett shook his head and turned his head away. “You’re too young. It isn’t right to do that with you.”

“Rhett, that’s stupid. I don’t know how good your biology is, but you do realise that I’ve already slept with a guy, dontcha?” Link joked and pointed at his bump, but Rhett didn’t smile.

“That’s different. You actually wanted to sleep with that man.”

“Uh…” The doubtful sound escaped Link’s mouth before he could hold it back. If Link was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure if what he’d done with the baby’s father had always been consensual. He’d thought about it a great deal since they’d broken up.

Rhett looked at him with wide eyes. “Did he hurt you?”

Link felt his hands trembling all of a sudden. He’d managed to push his ex out of his thoughts over the last weeks, and he wasn’t prepared to face this stuff now. But Rhett was watching him, waiting, and Link felt like he owed him an explanation. He nodded slowly. “Nothin’ serious, just a split lip or something like that.”

“But he made you sleep with him against your will!”

Link shrugged. “He’s very persuasive. I don’t think he forced me, more like… indirectly, you know? Like…” Link struggled to find the right words. It was hard to analyse the decisions he’d made back then. “Like he would be so sweet and tell me how pretty I was, but then suddenly he’d say that I was a slut and that nobody but him would want me, that I should feel lucky that he pitied me enough to fuck me… I dunno.”

Rhett had his eyes fixed on a spot on the couch, and Link could see his teeth grinding. “I don’t know what to say, Link, I’m sorry.”

...

“Was he your first boyfriend?” he finally asked quietly.

“Uh, yeah. We only did it a few times, I dunno why I got pregnant so quickly.” Rhett was silent, his face barely distinguishable in the dim light in the room. 

“So… you don’t have a boyfriend?” What kind of stupid question was that, Link wondered. If a man had a boyfriend, he wouldn’t need to go out and pay other guys to get him off the way Rhett did. The way he had done, rather. Link was pretty sure that Rhett hadn’t been to a club since he had moved in.

Rhett shook his head. “I’m no good for relationships.”

“What makes you think that?” Rhett was so gentle and caring, Link could easily imagine him as a loving boyfriend. Only that he shouldn’t think about Rhett that way.

“I’m like my old man. I’d just mess up anyone who loves me. Look at me, I just jacked it over a pregnant teenager. What does that make me, huh?” Rhett sounded bitter and he clawed his hand into his thigh, so hard that it had to hurt. Before Link had the chance to ask what he mean by that, Rhett jumped up from the couch and turned to his desk.

“It’s late, you should sleep, Link. I’ll work a bit more.” He put his headphones on and sat down in front of the screens. “Thanks again,” he whispered absentmindedly before he turned the computer on and disappeared into his numbers again.

——

Rhett felt something wet against his skin, and he wondered briefly if he was dreaming before he woke up all the way and heard a loud sniffling noise.

“Sugar?” he slurred and noticed that the younger man’s head was pressed against his front, leaving patches of tears on his shirt.

Link didn’t respond, he just kept sobbing noisily. “Hey, Link, what’s up?” It was the middle of the night, Rhett had only crawled into bed a few hours ago after working on his new code for the rest of the evening. He’d been upset about Link’s dance, the way he had almost let him jerk him off.

“‘M sorry. It hurts so much,” Link whimpered and his fists grabbed the fabric of Rhett’s shirt in a new wave of sobs.

Rhett was immediately alarmed. He was no expert on pregnancy, but he had watched enough hospital shows to know that a million things could go horribl wrong.

“What hurts, sugar?”

“My belly, and lower-”

Rhett sat up and switched the lights on. Link was holding his belly with both hands now, his face contorted in pain. When had this happened, he’d been fine the evening before.

“Do you need something, pain killers or…” Rhett cut himself off, because it was obvious that this situation was nothing that could be cured with some ibuprofen or a tea. Link needed a doctor, if only to check on the baby.

“Link, come on, get up. I’ll bring you to the hospital.”

Link shook his head vehemently, trying to suppress a moan. “No, that’s- ow, too expensive, Rhett. No doctor, I’m fine,” he said but he was still crying and holding his belly.

“Link, we’re going. Get up,” Rhett replied firmly, already shrugging his jacket on and looking around to find the keys. He gently pulled Link up and helped him into his shoes.

The short drive was pure agony for Rhett; every whimper and sob from Link was a stab into his heart and he ignored several traffi lights in his rush to get the younger man to the hospital.

He practically ran to the front desk in the ER, where a tired looking nurse sat.

“Hey, we- my- He’s pregnant, seven months or something. He got bad abdominal pain and I think he’s bleeding or something…”

The nurse didn’t look up from her screen as she extended her hand and said: “Insurance card, please.”

Rhett shot a glance at Link who quickly shook his head. He didn’t have health insurance. Rhett reached into the pocket of his jacket and fumbled for his own card. “Here, take mine,” he said. The nurse lifted her gaze off the computer and frowned. “Insurance is not transferable. If he doesn’t have his own…”

“Um, he’s my husband,” Rhett blurted out. “We’re jointly insured.” Link let out another deep moan and Rhett felt his heart jumping painfully at the sound. “Please, he’s in pain, just bring us to a doctor,” he begged the nurse. He hoped that she would believe his lie.

She was still completely unfazed and just gave him a bored look. “Do you have a marriage license with you?”

“Of course not, freaking Christ! I wake up to him crying in pain, and you expect me to take the time to gather all our legal documents before I bring him to the ER?”

Link whined and grabbed Rhett’s arm, pressing his flushed face into the taller man’s shoulder. “Shh, it’s okay sugar,” Rhett tried to soothe him and gently stroked his sweaty forehead. “You’ll be fine, I’ll get a doctor for you, yeah?”

He turned back to the nurse and gave her a pleading look. “Please, miss, I’ll pay for it, just get someone to treat him. Please.”

For a few seconds, the woman stared into Rhett’s desperate eyes and then over to the crying young man in his arms. It was obvious that she didn’t believe R that they were married, but in the end she sighed and took Rhett’scinsurance card. “If this gets me fired, I’ll find you and kick your skinny ass, boy,” she mumbled as she scanned the card and handed it back. “Go to room 14, left side of the hallway.”

“Thank you, thank you so much.”

Link shook his head when Rhett tried to lead him towards the examination room, so Rhett gently lifted him up and carried him down the hallway. He was glad about the muscles the long shift working construction had given him.

Inside the small room, where the lights were too bright and the air was smelling of disinfectant, Rhett put Link down onto the hard bed. The younger man was squirming and sweating, and Rhett tried to comfort him by stroking his hand. He’d avoided close body contact over the last weeks, because he wanted Link to tell him when he was ready to be touched; right now though it seemed like Link was craving the touch, so Rhett allowed himself to enjoy it while it lasted.

“Rhett, no doctor, don’t have the cash…” Link mumbled.

“Sh, don’t worry, I got ya. We can manage this,” Rhett said even though he had no idea how he was supposed to scrape the money for an ER treatment. The shopping tour in the baby shop had burned all of the savings from the extra shifts. It didn’t matter anyway— Link’s health was the most important thing.

They waited twenty excruciating minutes until an elderly man in white scrubs walked into the room and introduced himself as Dr Mills. The doctor looked exhausted in a way only a person who’d worked the last thirty hours saving lives can look.

“What’s the problem, Mr…” he looked at Link who had his eyes closed and glanced over to Rhett instead.

“His name’s Link,” he provided, remembering that Link was technically registered as his husband, so they should avoid last names. “He’s been crying half of the night, doc, says he has pain in his lower regions,” he tried to explain. The doctor nodded and sat down on a rolling stool.

“How far along is he?” he asked with a nod towards Link’s belly.

“Um, I dunno- hey, hey darlin’?” Rhett nudged hid shoulder very carefully and leaned down to whisper to him. “Which month are you in now, sugar?”

Link moaned. “Week twenty- ah, twenty nine…”

“Twenty nine, doctor,” Rhett repeated and looked up at Dr Mills. “He’ll be fine, right? He’ll be okay?”

“Let me run some checks, young man, and we will see.” The doctor put on a pair of rubber gloves and scooted the stool over to the examination bed. After pressing down on Link’s stomach a few times he frowned and said: “Your partner will have to remove his clothes, please.”

Rhett didn’t bother to correct his assumption; the man could think what he wanted, as long as he helped Link. Link tried to push his joggers down, and with a bit of support from Rhett they slipped far enough to allow the doctor to take a look. He leaned forwards, using his hands to spread the young man’s legs.

“Oh shit,” he mumbled, sounding alarmed.

The words made Rhett’s insides turn upside down. “What?” he asked. “What is it, is it bad?”

Link lifted his head weakly and looked down at his belly. “Doctor? Is it the baby? Is the baby all right?”

Dr Mills stood up and walked briskly over to the door. “Nurse!” he called. He turned back around and looked at Rhett. “The placenta is infected. You should have come to a doctor sooner, he must’ve been in pain for weeks!”

“Link?” Rhett asked the young man. “Why didn’t you say something, I swear, doc, I didn’t know this or I would’ve…”

Link’s face was deep red and tears were running down his cheeks. “I didn’t want to ask you for the money for the doctor… I wanted the crib, fuck, I just wanted stuff for the baby.”

Two nurses rushed into the room an the doctor gave them instructions. They started to undress Link all the way and asked Rhett to step aside.

Rhett wanted to scream, he wanted to yell at Link for being so stupid and he wanted to punch the guy who’d knocked Link up and abandoned him so hard that he’d never stand up again. Yes, this all, Link naked and crying on a hospital bed, a child that might never be born; this was all the fault of one single asshole that hadn’t been man enough to take the responsibility for his horniness.

He tried to tame his anger though. The nurses had put L into a gown and the doctor was busy preparing an IV. “What is happenin’?” Rhett asked nervously. “He’ll be fine, right?” he said again, even though it was clear from the expression on the doctor’s face that something was very wrong with Link.

“We will give him antibiotics to fight the infection,” Dr Mills said while he walked over to Link with the IV needle in his hand. The nurses stepped back and Rhett immediately rushed to the bed. Link struggled when he felt the cold metal on his skin, and the doctor beckoned Rhett to hold him down.

“It’s all right, Link,” he said as he slowly inserted the needle into one of the veins. “Your nice boyfriend is right here with you, why don’t you take his hand for a minute?” It was astonishing how the man managed to do his work and to comfort Link at the same time. Link’s free hand shot up and he gripped Rhett’s arm so tightly that it hurt.

The doctor fixated the IV with a plaster strip and gave Link a last reassuring smile before he left the room. Rhett followed him outside. “Hey, doc!” he called. “What’s happening now? What are you gonna do? Is the kid fine?”

Dr Mills nodded. “The child should be healthy, as far as I can see the infection is only exterior. I’ve given him some pain killers and antibiotics over the IV. He should sleep for a few hours and then, I’m afraid, you’ll have to go. I saw your insurance, it’s not…” He gave Rhett an apologetic glance. “I will give you a prescription for more antibiotics and he should stay in bed a few days, okay?”

Rhett nodded slowly, listening intently. As long as Link was fine, everything would be all right. He startled at the thought, wondering when he’d become so emotional over Link. Sure, he’d been crushing on him before, but what he’d felt tonight, all the fear, the worry, the relief he felt now that he knew L and the little one would be all right; these feelings all meant that he loved Link.

Rhett leaned against the wall outside of the room for a moment before he went back to Link. He took a few steadying breaths and closed his eyes.

Never, never would he let something like this happen again. Link would be safe from now on, safe with him.


	7. Chapter 7

Link was discharged in the early morning. He felt like absolute shit, not only because of the pain and the antibiotics. He should have told Rhett about his problems earlier. He shouldn’t have waited until they had been forced to go to the ER.

Rhett had been waiting next to his bed when Link had woken up, tired and a concerned expression on his face. Link only remembered fragments of the night before, but Rhett’s comforting touches and reassuring words were stuck in his mind. He’d been so sweet, so caring and protective. Link didn’t dare to think about what would’ve happened if the other man hadn’t been there.

Before they could leave the hospital, Rhett had to go to the front desk to pay the treatment. If he’d waited for a bill there would have been extra cost for postage, so he decided to do it right away.   
Rhett tried to shield the check from Link’s eyes, but Link caught a glimpse anyway. The sum was higher than what he’d made in four weeks at the club, and he felt like crying all over again.

Rhett was quiet on the drive back to the apartment. Link was exhausted, but he didn’t want to fall asleep when Rhett was in a bad mood.

“I’m so sorry, Rhett. Are you angry with me?”

Rhett stopped the car at a traffic light and rubbed his palms over his face. “Yeah, Link,” he said, sounding tired himself. “I’m fucking angry with you.”

The blood in Link’s ears started to rush, making it difficult to think. Link remembered when his ex had been angry, it had never ended well. But Rhett was not like that, was he? He’d said he’d take care of him, not hurt him.

“Do ya… wanna hit me or something?” Link offered in a whisper. If he’d learned one thing from the time with his ex, it was that sometimes it’s better to ask for the inevitable pain directly than to receive it out of nowhere later.

Rhett’s fingers tightened around the wheel, and he inhaled sharply. “No,” he said, his voice shaky.”I’m not like that, Link.” The light turned green and Rhett started the car again. “Not like him,” he added in a hushed, tight voice.

“Like who?”

“Like my father? Like his father before? Like that asshole who got you pregnant? I’ve seen my mom break under that kind of shit, I won’t do that to you, I really wanna protect you, believe me… but you’re making it so hard.”

So Rhett’s father had been abusive, had hurt his mom. Suddenly Rhett’s comments about his old man and not being good enough for a relationship made sense. Rhett apparently thought that he was the same, that he would hurt anybody who loved him. Link shook his head. “That’s bullshit,” he mumbled.

“What?”

“That’s bullshit,” he repeated, louder this time. “You’re not like your father, whatever he did. Not one single bit.” Link’s brain was cloudy from all the antibiotics, but he wanted to let Rhett know what a good guy he was. He put his hand on Rhett’s knee and stroked it in lieu of the eye contact they couldn’t have in the car.

“When you first came in, I thought you were an asshole. Y’know, greasy hair, macho phrases, the whole ‘big man’ thing. I was scared to come live with you at first, thought you’d take advantage. Remember how I tried to jerk you off that first night?” 

Rhett nodded, eyes on thee road. 

“You said no, Rhett. You said you wouldn’t use me. Last night I wanted to make you feel good, again you said you wouldn’t use me. Every other guy I know would’ve taken the opportunity and fucked me. You didn’t, instead you drove me to the hospital and paid for my treatment.”

Link moved his hand from Rhett’s knee up to his hair, tangling his fingers in the long strands. “You’re the best guy I know, babe.” He used the pet name very deliberately, hoping that Rhett would understand what it meant. Rhett nodded jerkily.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Although you’re just saying that ‘cause I tricked you into liking me. How you said it… it sounds like I bought your attachment, right?” Rhett shot Link another uncertain glance, but he didn’t respond, too confused and tired to discuss it any further. His mind didn’t stop turning all the way to the apartment.

——

Rhett had to go to work as soon as he’d dropped Link off, and he was absolutely drained by the time he came back. Link, in his newfound urge to comfort Rhett, just smiled at him and pulled the comforter back, a silent invitation for Rhett to join him in the bed.

Rhett sighed and dropped heavily onto the mattress, making Link bounce and giggle. The older man kept his usual respectful distance, but that night Link didn’t want that. He rolled over and snuggled up to Rhett, tugging his arm over his head so that he could put his head on Rhett’s shoulder.

He had spent the day thinking about what Rhett had said. That he’d bought Link’s love. There was a tiny voice in the back of his mind that screamed _yes, yes, of cours_ e! 

Rhett had tipped him so well at the club, he’d bought him food, he’d bought the baby stuff and paid for the ER treatment; and Link was really grateful for all of it, especially because he knew how hard Rhett worked to make it possible. He didn’t love him for it, though. If he could love someone for money, his heart would have already belonged to at least six other men who’d given him much more tips than Rhett ever could.

What these man hadn’t given him were the looks Link got from Rhett. The worried ones, when Rhett had found out about his pregnancy. The terrified ones when he’d Link’s Hand in the hospital. And the tender ones, like when they were sitting on the couch at night and Link caught Rhett gazing at his face instead of the TV screen.

Link loved him for that. For being the first person in his life who seemed to give more than a penny about his well-being. It might still not have been the right reason to love someone, but it was better than not loving at all.

So, over the next weeks, he became more and more comfortable with Rhett. It was small things mostly, like starting to cuddle closer to the taller man when they were watching TV, or rubbing his shoulders after a hard shift at work. Link loved the way Rhett blushed behind his beard whenever he welcomed him back home with a peck on the cheek, and he enjoyed the feeling of his big hand on his baby bump when they lay in bed at night.

He didn’t try to dance for the other man anymore. It wasn’t necessary. Link had thought that getting Rhett off was his only way to show his gratitude; but now he realised that cuddling him, being affectionate with him was far better.

The biggest gift he could make Rhett was to give him the love he’d obviously been missing his entire life.

\--

Rhett was just short of a collapse. The additional shifts were slowly breaking him down, both physically and mentally. His firm was working on a hotel complex, which meant a lot of heavy lifting and endless hours of wheeling concrete from the cement mixer up to the top floors of the half finished building. Rhett was exhausted all of the time now.

The only thing that got him through the day was the prospect of coming home to Link. He spent nearly every minute at work thinking about how the younger man would greet him and if they would cuddle that night. Some shifts ended so late that Link was already asleep when Rhett returned, but if he wasn’t, Rhett would get a small kiss on his beard from him. These tiny touches recharged his energy for days to come. It was pathetic really, how much he craved the smallest amounts of physical attention from another person, but Rhett didn’t care. He was in love, and if the other guys at his work laughed about him when they caught him daydreaming, well, screw them.   
Link made him happy.

He was becoming more gorgeous every day, too. His belly was round and the size of a basketball now. Whenever they went grocery shopping, Rhett couldn’t help the feeling of pride that came over him as he walked through the aisles with his hand on Link’s hip. He was aware that the child wasn’t his, but the people around them didn’t know that and for a while he could pretend that this young family was his.

A family that he needed to provide for. Rhett knew that if he wanted to give Link a good home, if he wanted to convince him to stay with him, he had to move on to something better than construction work. Rhett had been in this job since he’d been forced to leave school at fifteen. His father had dropped him off at the office of the building contractor, the summer after the 8th grade.

Rhett had struggled in school, but he’d always had top marks in maths and IT. He was still good at that, coding and decrypting programmes, but his old man’s words had never stopped gnawing at him.

_“You’re no good for nothing. Too stupid to do anything else.”_

So he had stayed at the building company, even after he’d left his family behind. Without a qualifications or a degree, he’d thought that it was impossible to use his computer skills as anything else than a hobby.

Only now there was LInk. Now there was the baby. And they were worth it to leave his little shell and finally try and do something with his skills.

Every night after Link had fallen asleep Rhett crawled out of bed to work on a new programme that he hoped to sell to a bigger company when it was finished. He often stayed at the computer until the early morning, granting himself only a few hours of sleep. It took its toll, but two weeks before Link’s due date he was able to send the demo version to a tech firm. Not two hours later he received an email saying that they were very interested in Rhett’s product.

“Oh, fuck,” he whispered, his heart beating as if it would leap out of his body any second.

“What’s up?” Link’s voice came from the couch where the young man was leafing through a magazine. Rhett swivelled around in his revolving chair and grinned at him.

“I got good news,” he said as he got up and walked over to Link.

“Oh? What is it, sweetie?” Link had been calling Rhstt pet names for over a month now, but it still made Rhett’s stomach jump pleasantly every time it happened. He tried not to blush and sat down next to Link.

“I sent one of my programmes to a tech firm, and they just told me that they wanna have it.” He gave Link a nervous glance before he looked down at his lap. “It’s only a publishing contract, so it won’t be much money at first, but maybe I can sell another one soon.”

“What? That’s amazing, Rhett!” Link squeaked and quickly got on his knees on the couch to hug Rhett. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Rhett buried his nose in Link’s shirt and mumbled. “I dunno. I wasn’t sure if it would work out… I guess I didn’t want you to think I’m a failure.”

Link smiled and whispered, “Silly man,” before he pulled Rhett’s head back so that he could look at him. “You’re great, Rhett,” he said and pressed a kiss to his nose. Rhett couldn’t help the embarrassing giggle that escaped his mouth.   
“You’re strong, and you are gonna be very successful with your business,” Link continued and pressed more kisses to Rhett’s cheek before he moved down to his neck, sucking at the rough skin there.

“Hey, hey sugar what’re you tryin’, hm?” Rhett gently pushed Link away. These kisses went far beyond the small pecks he normally received from the younger man, and he couldn’t let that happen. “You know we can’t do that.”

He’d expected Link to pout in response, but instead the brunet laughed happily and latched back onto Rhett’s neck. “We can,” he mumbled against Rhett’s shirt collar. “We can, ‘cause it’s my birthday.” He came back up and flashed Rhett one of his dazzling smiles. “I’m legal, babe.”

Rhett felt his jaw dropping, unable to close it for several seconds. “You’re kidding.”

“Nuh uh.” Link crawled to the other end of the couch to get his wallet out of his backpack. “Here,” he held his ID under Rhett’s nose and there it was, the same date only exactly eighteen years back. He looked back up at Link who smiled with bright eyes and whispered: “It’s my birthday… and my birthday wish is that you sleep with me, Rhett.”

Rhett felt excitement, surprise and arousal mixing in his belly all at once.

Link was eighteen. 

Link wanted him to fuck him. 

Was it still wrong? Had things changed enough between them?

Rhett knew that he was in love with Link, that he wanted to stay with him for the rest of his life. He wasn’t using him by sleeping with him. It wouldn’t be fucking, right? It would be _making love_.

“Please?” he heard Link say. “I want this, Rhett. Okay? I don’t want it to make you feel good, I don’t want it to say thank you for anything you bought for me. I just wanna have sex with you.” Link put his hand on Rhett’s chest and added, “Because I like you, big man.”

Rhett was stunned into silence. Sure, Link had been really affectionate with him lately, cuddling and kissing him, but this was a whole new level. They’d been close to having sex before, but never with so many feelings. Not since Rhett had realised that Link’s mind was far more beautiful than his body.

The other man apparently took Rhett’s silence as hesitation, because he slowly pulled his hand away and frowned. “Um, unless… I thought you’d still want me, but I’ve gotten bigger and all… If you don’t like the way I look anymore, that’s cool, I mean-” Link’s voice broke a little, indicating that it wouldn’t be all right at all if R would reject him.

“Oh shit, no, no I really want to!” Rhett hurried to say and pressed his lips to L’s. “Just a surprise, is all. Want you so fuckin’ bad.” He kissed Link again, deeper this time, and felt the younger man melt into his touch. “Would ya take your shirt off?” Rhett asked breathlessly, the words ringing in his head. Link would take his shirt off, just like in the club, and this time Rhett was allowed to touch _everywhere. As long as he wante_ d.

Link shrugged the faded t-shirt off and Rhett’s fingers were drawn to his skin like magnetic poles. Link’s belly was round, firm and yet soft. There were some new marks in the skin, purple and raised. Rhett mouthed at them, licking softly to ease the pain they had to cause Link. “They’re ugly,” Link said in a sad voice.

“Nothin’ that’s a part of you is ugly, sugar.” Rhett moved back to kiss Link reassuringly.

It was a bit difficult to figure out the logistics with Link’s belly in the way, but after a few minutes of hemming and hawing, Link groaned exasperatedly and simply moved up to straddle Rhett, looking down at his flushed face with a smirk as he started to ride him.

Link had gained quite some pounds over the last weeks, and Rhett was getting crushed by the weight in his position underneath Link; still it was the best thing he’d ever felt. It was surreal to watch Link’s face as he came— after all this had been the topic of most of Rhett’s dreams and jerk-off sessions over the last few months. Only his own forceful orgasm moments later proved Rhett that this wasn’t a dream as well.

Link climbed off of Rhett and led him from the couch over to the bed, making him lie down and cuddling close to him. “Was that good?” he whispered against Rhett’s beard, his breath tickling Rhett.

Rhett dropped another kiss to Link’s head before he answered. “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done, sugar. If I had to choose one thing I’d do for the rest of my life it would be sex with you, I swear.”

Link giggled and said: “Well, I wouldn’t do that 24/7 maybe, but I could live with letting you do it at least once a day, I guess.”

“Really?” Rhett sat back up, post-orgasm fog suddenly clearing out of his brain. This was his apropos. “Would ya… Link, would ya stay with me? Like, after the baby is here?” He remembered L’ink’s angry reaction from the last time he’d asked the younger man to stay with him. But now that Link was kissing him, now that they had _made love_ …

Link was quiet for a long moment before he answered. “You mean like, forever? You’d let me stay with you?”

“Forever,” Rhett nodded. “Like a real, proper couple, you know.” Rhett could see it very clearly, this life as a couple. It looked a lot like his favourite cereal commercial, with a breakfast table full of happ faces.

“I’d like that,” Link mumbled, already half asleep. “Mh, I’d like to be a proper couple with you, Rhett.”

“Okay.” Rhett kissed Link’s head one last time before he lay back down too, glad that the darkness was hiding his tears. “Oh, and, sugar?”

“Hm?”

“Happy birthday.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Rhett. Rhett, please pick up,” Link muttered under his breath, surprised by the calmness of his own voice. He’d thought that he would freak out once the contractions began and the baby came, but he just grabbed the phone and dialled Rhett’s number. It was around noon, and he was still at work. He had taken leave for L’inks due date, but it was still over a week until then. The baby was apparently eager to get out.

Link let it ring for almost a minute before he finally heard Rhett’s deep voice flooding out of the phone speaker. “ _Sugar, that you_?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Rheat, sweetie, I know you’re workin’, but I’m kinda in labour and—”

“ _What_?” Rhett practically screamed into his phone, making Link jump. He repeated, “I said I’m kinda in labour, and I was wondering—”

“ _Don’tmoveI’llberighttherebabe_!” There was some rustling and heavy breathing on Rhett’s end, followed by a few muttered curses. “ _Outta the way! My boyfriend’s giving birth!”_

“Rhett, are you shoving people around in the middle of a construction site? There’s no need to rush, I’m actually…”

“ _I have to go boss, baby’s on the way… yeah, okay, thank you sir… Link, you there? I’ll be right over!”_ Rhett panted into his phone and hung up. Link chuckled. The older man was definitely making up for his own lack of nervousness. Link could only hope that he didn’t run over any red lights on his way home.

He concentrated on his breathing, the way he had learned from the video Rhett had rented for him after the obstetrician had told him to visit prenatal classes (which were far too pricey for them).

Only ten minutes later the door opened and Rhett barged into the apartment with an excited look on his face. He hadn’t even taken the time to take his hard hat off.

“Link, are you okay? Do you have your bag? Should we go now?!” he hollered breathlessly. Link would have giggled at the sight of such a big man looking completely awestruck, but the contractions were coming at short intervals now and gosh, he hadn’t anticipated that much pain. He pointed at the gym bag he’d prepared earlier and Rhett grabbed it.

“You okay to walk, sugar?” Rhett asked as he helped Link up from the couch. Link leaned on his shoulder and together they wobbled down the stairs to the car.   
The drive seemed to take a short eternity, especially after they got into a traffic jam on the city highway. Link was breathing steadily, trying his very best not to worry Rhett any further. His boyfriend was throwing him glances every few minutes and cursing the other drivers around them.  
  
When they finally arrived at the hospital Rhett jumped out of the car and rushed around the back to help Link to get out. The contractions were coming in shorter intervals now and Rhett sprinted into the building to get a wheelchair for him.

A nurse welcomed them in a friendly, but completely calm manner, ignoring most of Rhett’s excited babbling with the confidence of a woman who was used to nervous first time parents. They had to fill out a forms and Rhett handed his insurance card over once more. Link had to think about what he’d said to himself back after Rhett’s first visits at the club. _This guy could be baby’s golden ticket to a hospital birth._ He’d been right, but in an entirely different way than he would have ever expected.

“You’re the baby daddy, I presume?” the nurse asked with a glance at Rhett who’d stayed a few steps behind when they started their way towards the labour ward.

“Um, no, actually-”

“Yes, miss. He’s the father.” Link’s voice was firm and he smiled at Rhett through the pain of another contraction. He hadn’t planned on saying it, but it felt so right when he did. Rhett had earned that title a thousand times more than the baby’s actual father.

Rhett looked as if he was about to cry when he took Link’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Thank you,” he whispered earnestly as if Link had just made him the most precious present. And perhaps he had, perhaps a family was the best thing Rhett could have.

“Well, then follow me, boys.” The nurse let Rhett push the wheelchair to one of the delivery rooms where she helped Link settle into the spacious bed. “This is nice,” Link noticed. The room was bright and clean. “This bed is twice the size of ours, Rhett!”

Rhett blushed and shot the nurse a nervous side-glance. Link knew that he didn’t like it when other people picked up n their precarious situation; it made him feel like he wasn’t taking proper care of Link. But after years working in a hospital in this part of town the woman was more than used to cases like them, unfazed by Link’s youth and Rhett’s tired eyes.

She didn’t judge, on the contrary; she was happy to see that her patient was well-fed and that his boyfriend didn’t show any signs of aggressive behaviour towards him.

It didn’t take long after this for the actual birth to start. Link was slightly surprised because he’d read that a first birth could take up to 48 hours, but apparently his baby was in a rush to meet him. The pain was pretty bad now, and Link couldn’t suppress the screams escaping his mouth. The obstetrician winced and pulled a face. “Oh, we’ve got a screamer,” she said drily. 

She beckoned Rhett over and instructed him to hold Link’s hand. Link grabbed Rhett’s calloused fingers and squeezed hard as the next contraction shook his body. “Aaaaaaaaahhhh!! Oh, sorry sweetie…” Link apologised when he saw R’s pained expression.

“Okay, now pressing please… nice and steady breathing.” The obstetrician patted his spread legs encouragingly. Link had been terribly afraid of the pain, and it was intense, but he just held onto the familiar feeling of Rhet’s hand. He took a deep breath and pushed, and for a moment it felt as if he’d rip apart and die this instant, before he felt something release and suddenly his body relaxed slightly. Only seconds later a soft cry filled the room. Link’s heart was beating fast as he tried to look past his legs. The obstetrician stepped up to him with a wide smile, cradling a tiny bundle of reddish skin and soft hair.

“Congratulations,gentlemen. You’ve got a little boy.” She handed the baby over to Link who immediately pressed it gently to his chest. He couldn’t believe that after all those months he was holding his child in his arms.

The boy had his eyes closed and his impossibly delicate limbs were covered in blood and slime; still Link could see at the very first glance that he’d been worth it. All the pain, all the exhaustion, all the nights dancing and all the days scrubbing— he’d been worth it all.

“Hey there,” Link whispered and wasn’t surprised when he felt a tear slipping down his cheek. The kid suddenly opened his eyes and stared up at Link with mild interest. “Hey sweetie, I’m your Pa.” Link decided on a whim and looked up at Rhett in time to see his boyfriend hastily wiping at his eyes. He continued with a grin, “And this big cryin’ goof over there is your Daddy.”

——

Later, when the baby was bathed and examined, Link and Rhett were lying on the labour bed together, snuggling close with the boy between them. They were facing each other, both sleepy but keeping their eyes open to not miss one single breath of the baby.

“What are you thinkin’ about?” Rhett asked softly, settling his hand on Link’s.

“I’m thinking about how happy I am that you are here. Thinking about how lucky this child is that you are his dad, and how he’ll never have to meet his other father, ‘cause you’ll be there.” Link said. It was true. A few months ago, Link would have laughed at anyone who’d have told him that he’d end up like this with his sleazy, greasy-haired customer. 

Now his head was filled with images of the very same man playing with their little son, teaching him football or chess or whatever the boy would be into. Life was very strange, Link thought, that it made one guy run away only to give him a much better one in the form of a lonely construction worker. He couldn’t complain though as he looked at his little family and listened to Rhett’s quiet voice.

“I’ll be there, sugar.”

\--

_15 years later_

Sometimes Link didn’t know where the time had gone. It seemed like only a few months ago he’d been pregnant, dressed in skimpy outfits and dancing to the Pussycat Dolls. 

Now he was in his early thirties, lived in a wonderful home together with his husband and their teenage son and he only ever danced in his own kitchen when there was a good son on the radio.

It had taken a few years, but by the time Oliver had been old enough to go to school Rhett’s programmes had taken off very well and they had moved out of their tiny apartment. Link often joked that his closet was now bigger than the entire place they had lived in back then. He never forgot about that time though, the sleepless nights, the financial worries, Rhett perpetually tired from working two jobs while there was a crying infant at home. 

It was all etched into his mind and personality.

Rhett was older now, more settled, but still the sweetest man Link knew. After more than a decade of marriage they had fallen into a steady and comforting partnership. Sometimes, when Oliver was staying over at another house, L put a song on and danced for him. It felt good to see Rhett’s eyes light up, the expression on his face showing the same admiration Link had found so unsettling at first.

Every single time Rhett asked if he could touch before put his fingertip on L’s chest, the way he had done that night fifteen years ago.

Every single time they slept with each other afterwards, sometimes slow, sometimes quick and hard, but always with softly muttered declarations of love.

Oliver didn’t remember the years in the seedy neighbourhood. He’d grown up so privileged, his childhood entirely different to his parent’s experiences. He was a good kid, but sometimes Link wondered if they hadn’t spoiled them in their endeavours to give him a careless youth.

Now for example, he was arguing with Link over a party he wanted to go to instead of doing his homework.

“But it’s not fair! Everyone’s going, and I’ll only miss one worksheet for maths once! It’s not like I’ll fail because of this!”

Link of course didn’t tell his son that he’d thought the same once, that he’d dropped out of school because having fun with his friends had seemed so much more important. “You have to learn to take responsibility, young man. Life isn’t kind, you have to work to make it.”

“Oh and how would you know that?” Oliver argued, pointing at Link. “You know nothing about life, all you ever do is host dinner parties and buy shoes with dad’s money!”

“Oliver! That…” Link inhaled sharply, shocked. He knew that his son didn’t mean it that way, that it was just hormones and moods, but the words still stung. He didn’t want his son to think he was like all the other over-privileged suburban moms at his school.

“Oliver! You don’t talk like that to your father!” Rhett walked in, dressed in a dark suit. Apparently he had just come home from work and heard their argument. He stepped up to Oliver and gave him a quick slap that surprised both the boy and Link.

“Rhett, no!” Link said. “What are you doing?” They had never hit their child; after all they had been through they knew that it could only do damage to a young person.

“I’m teaching him a lesson,” Rhett growled and grabbed Oliver by the collar of his shirt. “Come with me.”

“Dad! No, let go!” Oliver said and tried to escape his father’s grip, but of course R was stronger than him. He dragged the boy out of the house and to his car, anger bubbling in his chest. Oliver stopped struggling when he realised that his father was genuinely angry, because he knew that it was better not to provoke him any further.

“Where are we going, dad?” he asked as they left their neat neighbourhood and Rhett turned onto one of the fast lines. Rhett didn’t answer until they’d reached a back alley in the seediest part of town where he parked. “Come on,” he said and got out of the car.

Oliver followed him as Rhett walked up to a dirty entrance door with a faded sign above it that advertised ‘private shows’ for 2 dollars per minute. It was early in the evening, but there were already a few men hanging around the building. They stepped into the house and were met with thumping beats and a faint smell of cheap liquor and perfume.

“Dad? Dad, what are we doing here?” Oliver was almost scared now. He’d never been in this part of town, let alone in an establishment like this.  
Rhett turned around and glared at his son. “Do you know what this is? Do you see the men here?” He pointed at two dancers who where about to coax some customers into their booths. Oliver nodded; he was a teenager, of course he had at least an idea of what was going on behind the red curtains.

“I met your father here, before you were born.” Oliver knew that Rhett wasn’t his biological father, but he’d never worried about that because Rhett was his da in every other sense possible.

“Here?” he asked incredulously. “What were you doing here?!”

“Your pa worked here as a dancer, kiddo,” Rhett said, and suddenly he smiled a little bit. “I was his customer.”

Oliver’s eyes grew round and his jaw dropped. “Pa worked _here_? As a _stripper_?!”

“Yep. He was pregnant with you, barely older than you are now, and he danced for money eight hours every night in order to feed you,” Rhett said matter-of-factly. “He was all alone, stripping at night and cleaning by day. All for you, Oliver.” He didn’t sound angry anymore, just very serious.

Oliver was silent and stared at his feet. After a moment he looked up and asked: “Where was, um, the guy who got him pregnant?” They never talked about his biological father.

“He left, and Link had to pay his debts off.”

Oliver looked around the club, the dancers, the drunken customers; the dirt and the smell and he thought of his sweet, soft pa all alone in this frightening place.

“So I guess Pa is really strong, isn’t he?”

Rhett nodded. “The strongest. If I didn’t have him, I’d still slouch about one of these clubs, or I would’ve died from the booze already,” he said with a glance at a group of sleazy men around his age.

“Dad? Can we go home now?” Oliver took a step closer to Rhett who protectively wrapped his arm around the boy. “I wanna apologise to pa.”

“Okay.” Rhett led Oliver out of the club, but he gave the familiar interior a fond glance before he stepped outside. It was a seedy place, a hopeless one. But still it had given him the love of his lif and a son.

Rhett knew that sometimes, just if you are lucky, the most beautiful things grow out of the ugliest places.


End file.
